Don Camillo Chor & Florian Helgath
Biography Don Camillo Chor & Florian Helgath
Don Camillo Chor
...that is the special feeling the don camillo chor has been generating for 18 years now for lovers of sophisticated vocal music - with jazz ballads, swing standards, sophisticated a-cappella rock arrangements, but also with rare, precious classical pieces. Most important to the 35 singers is working on the details of timbre, vocal technique and interpretation, which, in the end, bestows its own personal, musical brilliance upon a song.
The don camillo chor stands for pure Jazz and Pop delight and is one of the best jazz choirs in Germany: After having won the first prize at the Bavarian Choir Contest in 2009, the choir achieved third place at the German Choir competition in 2010.
National and international competitions and festivals have led the Munich vocalists to Mainz (Vocal Jazz Summit), Austria (vokal.total), Denmark (Aarhus Vocal Festival), Poland and many other destinations. At the World Choir Games 2008 in Graz the ensemble won a gold medal in the category Jazz.
The Italian name „don camillo“ which the choir has had since its founding, specifically refers to a concrete transalpine relationship: don camillo chor has an musical director, Andrea Figallo, who comes from Italy. He is a coach for choirs and vocal groups all over Europe and is frequently invited to participate as a jury member in international prestigious competitions. Not only is he a well-respected arranger and producer. For many years he was the bass singer and vocal percussionist of the internationally known a-cappella group „The Flying Pickets“.
In January 2013, Andrea Figallo became the new bass of the successful German vocal pop band “Wise Guys”.
Andrea Figallo, musical director
For more than ten years now, Andrea Figallo has been a known constant in a-cappella music in Europe and beyond. Not only was he the bass singer and vocal percussionist of the internationally renowned a-cappella group „The Flying Pickets“, but also a well-respected arranger, producer (The Ghost Files, The Flying Pickets), composer and coach for choirs and vocal groups all over Europe. He is frequently invited to participate as a jury member in international prestigious competitions like the Vokal Total in Graz, Austria. In addition to various other singing projects, he is featured in the 2010 Grammy nominated Bobby McFerrin’s CD “Vocabularies”. In January 2013 Andrea became the new bass of the German vocal pop-band “Wise Guys”.
His debut as musical director of the don camillo choir he made in September 2012 with a big farewell concert for his predecessor Florian Helgath. His regular work with the choir commenced in June 2012.
Matthias Seitz, conductor
Matthias Seitz was born into a family of musicians in Regensburg. At the age of six, he started taking violin and piano lessons. As a grammar school student he joined the ‘Regensburger Domspatzen’ and gained a lot of experience with choral music. After his graduation, Matthias Seitz studied music to become a teacher, at the University for Music and Theater in Munich. He received conducting lessons from Prof. Gerd Guglhör, Prof. Max Frey and Prof. Christoph Adt.
Since 2008, Matthias Seitz has been teaching the subject ’practical piano playing for schools’ at the University for Music and Theater in Munich. He also works as a freelance musician, as choir conductor (munichbluenotes), pianist (Hannes-Keseberg-Band), arranger and singer. With his vocal ensemble ‘StimmBand’, he won second place at the a cappella German contest in Send Horst (category ‘semi professional’).
In 2013, Matthias Seitz became choir conductor of don camillo chor and supports the choir’s musical director Andrea Figallo.
